Alps, Pyrenees and other Big Hills!
I have to say that the idea of going on holiday to somewhere like the Alps or Pyrenees and riding up the huge mountain passes there FOR FUN does seem to puzzle a lot of my friends. I am not at all sure they understand the attraction of the big climbs. But then, as the saying goes, if you have to ask you won't understand!
Riding up the big cols in the Alps or Pyrenees is quite a daunting challenge to the uninitiated. Some of the bigger climbs we have done are upwards of 20 kilometers and may rise up to 2000m or more. There is nothing, but nothing, in the UK which gets even remotely close to this. The climbs are relentless. But the reward, the joy unbridled, on reaching the summit is indescribable.
Perhaps the daddy of them all is the ascent of Mont Ventoux, the aptly named Geant de Provence, rising from not much above sea level north of Carpentras to a windswept desolate 1912m. It is both beautiful and frightening. Paul and I have visited the mountain on a number of occasions, most recently in 2009 when we achieved the feat of riding the three different road ascents in a single day, which earned us entry to the Club des Cingles (literally Club of Madmen!)
And then there are the descents. Just think about it. 25 kilometers, all downhill. If you feel like it, you don't even have to pedal. Unless you are like my son, in which case it is all about descending like a loony to try and see what is the maximum speed you can reach!